Is Nationwide The best at the Minute?

lr1277

EarthBoy said:

lr1277 said:

Not so good point: Whilst they are apparently not closing branches at least one branch has gone part-time. It is now open on 3 weekdays and Saturday morning.

Some of Nationwide's branches are so called "limited service" branches, which don't have a counter service, just banks of cash machines and computer terminals/tablets. Personally, I don't think these are worthy of the name "branch". 

I have not come across the set up you mention.

The branch I am thinking of is north of London. On the days it is open there is a counter service as well as staff to answer queries.

MrFrugalFever

£70k sat in current accounts?   

For the love of ferrero rocher, put this money in a savings account!

Katiehound

and it would be prudent to split that amount with another bank after all the FSCS cover is for £85k compensation and you are not that far off.

It is not wise to have all your eggs in one basket so to speak- folk have been locked out of their accounts sometimes when there have been IT problems

Some of that should be earning interest. Lots of possibilities.

pridehappy

After experiencing most of the UKs banks (Lloyds/Halifax/Starling/first direct/HSBC/Santander/NatWest/Cooperative/Virgin/TSB), I've got to admit Nationwide has been the best of the bunch.

Sure, they aren't the most advanced when it comes to tech and their app is a little limited, but it's far from the worst (Cooperative) and all the features do work reliably. They also seem to be taking feedback into consideration, such as less reliance on card readers and changing references possibility. It's slowly catching up with the big boys. Sure, if you're after an app with lots of functionalities, I'd choose NatWest personally.

In my opinion, it's customer service where Nationwide shines. If you need to get in touch (branch/telephone etc) it's more of a pleasure instead of a chore, staff are always so friendly and are always knowledgeable. It honestly feels like nothing is enough, and they do go above and beyond others.

In terms of products, they aren't bad. I love the member benefits from having current accounts/savings with them (possibility for annual payout or cash back offers) and their interest rates on savings aren't terrible compared to the main banks.

However, I would wait until a switching offer comes back up from them. You may be waiting a while as they recently finished one, usually they seem to do it each year just before January. If you're really wanting to get away from Santander though, of course go for it.

I'd highly recommend putting large amounts into savings accounts, as you'll earn good interest and also have more protections (no risk of card fraud etc). 

It's also a good idea to have 2 banks, so you could consider keeping Santander and switching one to Nationwide, or switch both.

northwalesd

pridehappy said:

In my opinion, it's customer service where Nationwide shines. If you need to get in touch (branch/telephone etc) it's more of a pleasure instead of a chore, staff are always so friendly and are always knowledgeable. It honestly feels like nothing is enough, and they do go above and beyond others.

Your experience of CS at Nationwide differs vastly from mine. I think they're awful.

Barkin

northwalesd said:

pridehappy said:

In my opinion, it's customer service where Nationwide shines. If you need to get in touch (branch/telephone etc) it's more of a pleasure instead of a chore, staff are always so friendly and are always knowledgeable. It honestly feels like nothing is enough, and they do go above and beyond others.

Your experience of CS at Nationwide differs vastly from mine. I think they're awful.

Likewise. My only dealings with them was sorting out my father's affairs when he died in 2022. A truly painful experience. I shan't bore you with the details, but they were the most awkward, inept and inefficient outfit that I've ever experienced - both on the 'phone and in branch. 

Lloyds, on the other hand, were the polar opposite. 

Fingerbobs

A few people have mentioned that the Nationwide app isn't very good - but I'm really curious to know why they feel this?

I currently have 33 banking apps on my phone, and in my opinion the Nationwide one is among the best. I find it easy to use, and the display is clearly laid out. The only feature I feel is missing is an option to freeze my credit card (debit cards can be frozen, but not credit cards). Aside from that it does everything I want.

Rob5342

Fingerbobs said:

A few people have mentioned that the Nationwide app isn't very good - but I'm really curious to know why they feel this?

You can't pay cheques in, it doesn't give you payment notifications, you can't see your card number, you can't set up.new payees (you have to use a computer with the ridiculous card reader), you can't freeze your card, your can't get a pin reminder, it doesn't have any budgeting features.. Those are the ones that I remember.

EarthBoy

Nationwide doesn't show payment references, neither for payments sent, nor received. 
Payments to other people's Nationwide accounts are processed as internal transfers and don't show the other person's name; you just get the sort code and account number instead. This makes it difficult to keep track of who you've paid, or who's sent you money, if the other people are Nationwide customers. 

Fingerbobs

Rob5342 said:

Fingerbobs said:

A few people have mentioned that the Nationwide app isn't very good - but I'm really curious to know why they feel this?

You can't pay cheques in, it doesn't give you payment notifications, you can't see your card number, you can't set up.new payees (you have to use a computer with the ridiculous card reader), you can't freeze your card, your can't get a pin reminder, it doesn't have any budgeting features.. Those are the ones that I remember.

I can refute a couple of these. You absolutely can set up new payees in the app. I did it a couple of weeks ago. And you can freeze debit cards, just not credit cards. I agree that is a drawback.

The other missing features listed could be seen as limitations for people who need those features. I guess my expectations are lower so I just don't miss those features.